If Mike James fails in his attempt to make this Rockets team better with his presence..... it won't because he didn't try hard enough.

Photographer Bob Luna and I spent much of today with James.
On this day .... James ran the stair steps inside the Toyota Center early in the morning to get his day going. He then jumped rope and shot baskets before going to his youth basketball camp out on the west side of Houston. James is running 3 different youth camps this summer ....one in Pittsburgh ...where he went to college ......one in Long Island, New York .... where he grew up and the one here in Houston.

What I really like about Mike's camp is that he and his counselors teach kids more than just basketball. Sure ... they had some great drills for the kids but they also teach them much more. While we were there ... they had an etiquette coach come in and teach the kids how to properly use their knives, forks & spoons at a formal dinner. They also taught them how to tie knot on a necktie.

What's that got to do with Mike James making the Rockets better?? Well ... alot really. The way he approaches his camp ...is the same way he approaches everything. Full speed and full of passion. Mike James cares ......he cares about everything he's committed to. After the Rockets traded him away a couple of years ago in favor of Rayfer Alston ....everytime I ran into Mike ..... he told me he wanted to return to the Rockets(even though they traded him away). I asked him about that today ...and he said the over-riding factor in that was that he wanted to live with his family in Houston. His wife is from here ....and he has maintained his home here no matter what team he played for but now he's very happy to be living in Houston with his wife and 3 daughters. This is passionate about life and passionate about being the best basketball player he can be. Guess what??? He can create his own shot too!!! Hopefully all of his passionate work will pay off for the Rockets and their fans.

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